“Girls look at us and want to jump five”: how the students of Tutberidze appreciated their success in the short program at the European Championship

“I go out on the ice and don’t understand how to ride”

At the European Championship, the singles tournament kicked off, which Russian fans were waiting for the most. And domestic figure skaters fully justified their hopes. After a short program, the top three lines were taken by Alena Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexander Trusova, respectively.

The winner of the Grand Prix of this season not only demonstrated a clean rental, but also became the first skater to complete an axel in three turns at the continental championship. Many admired her good shape, although the figure skater herself modestly admitted that after the New Year holidays she had to rework triple jumps.

“It fell, it was not clear how it flew, there was a wild uncoordination. I think these are the consequences of the New Year. I went to the show, then realized that I went out on the ice and did not understand how to ride. If during the holidays I grow by 2.5 cm, then I feel that something is not right. It happened now, but I don’t think that it somehow influenced my performance, ”Kostornaya said.

She was pleased with her rental, as she managed to complete all the tasks. In addition, unlike many colleagues, the winner of the short program praised the organization of the tournament in Graz.

“A little non-standard arena, but it's not bad and not good. The ice is warm, it is welcome. The fuss is superfluous, but no one will leave if I go to the rink. In general, nine people ride in training, so this is not new, ”Kostornaya added.

Shcherbakova lags behind Kostornaya by almost 7 points and retains the chances of winning gold. She noted that she was excited, although from the side her rental also looked flawless. This was partly due to the fact that she first went to the main rink of the European Championship six minutes before her performance.

“I'm glad that all the elements have turned out. I'm always nervous - sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. But this is my first adult European Championship, and this is responsibility. But in general, it helps to show oneself better, ”Shcherbakova said.

Of the entire three Eteri Tutberidze, the champion of Russia of the last two years, while the only one does not have a triple axel in her arsenal, which does not prevent her from beating her rivals. At the same time, she is not going to be content with the small and in between competitions, we learn this very key element for the short program.

“Until I’m sure that I’m jumping the trixel stably, it will not be in the programs. I grow quite evenly, thank God there are no sudden leaps leading to uncoordination. This happens sometimes, but we manage. We work a lot, are focused on the result, and the coaches help us a lot in this, ”Shcherbakova concluded.

Trusova, who took third place, set a personal record in the short program (74.95 points), however, a mistake in the performance of the double axel did not allow her to rise higher. The skater noted that she deliberately includes complex elements in her programs, as this allows her to cope with simpler jumps.

“After the New Year holidays, I have not sufficiently restored the triple axel to show it. If I don’t make complex elements, I’ll be mistaken for simple ones, like today. The content that I have now, I typed after a week and a half after the holidays. And the one I want is two days before the European Championship, ”Trusova said.

Absolutely everyone who loves figure skating knows the ambitiousness of Tutberidze’s students, however, according to Trusova, they are ready to try something that no one else has ever managed in the history of this sport.

“Figure skating is developing, more and more girls, not only in Russia, but also in other countries, the quadruples are learning to jump. The younger ones look at us, try to do more than we do, in our group there are girls who want to jump not four, like us, but five, ”said Trusova.

Choreographer Daniil Gleichengauz, working with the Tutberidze group, praised the debut of his team at the first adult European Championship.

“Everyone deserves five, except that Sasha’s score with a small minus for the stupid“ C grade ”on the double axel. Otherwise, everyone was determined to show their best skating, I really liked the way they performed, ”Gleichenhaus shared his impressions.

Yesterday's juniors are gradually entering a transitional age, which cannot but disturb their fans. However, the specialist assured that changes in growth affect exclusively the training process.

“You just have to do more in training so that no one notices any problems with either jumping or with the body. We process all this, as a result, only the girls themselves know that they are growing. When the three of them, it’s easier, more fun. At every tournament at home, ”added Gleichenhaus.